Shloka 3
Śāṇḍilī–Sumanā-saṃvāda: Sat-strī-samudācāra and Pati-dharma
Conduct of the Virtuous Wife
कृष्णद्वैपायनो राजन्नज्ञातचरितं चरन् । वाराणस्यामुपातिष्ठ न्मैत्रेयं स्वैरिणीकुले
kṛṣṇadvaipāyano rājann ajñātacaritaṃ caran | vārāṇasyām upātiṣṭhan maitreyaṃ svairiṇīkule naraśvara ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi, Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa), qui allait de lieu en lieu en dissimulant son identité, arriva un jour à Vārāṇasī. Là, dans la demeure du sage Maitreya—dans le quartier associé aux Svairiṇīs—il se présenta.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ideal of humility and unobtrusive conduct: even a revered sage like Vyāsa may move incognito, approaching other sages without display. It also sets a moral-narrative tone that dharma can be explored through encounters in unexpected social spaces, not only in royal courts or forests.
Bhīṣma begins an anecdote for the king: Vyāsa, traveling in disguise, reaches Vārāṇasī and goes to the sage Maitreya’s place, described as being in the svairiṇī-kula locality. This functions as the scene-setting for the episode that follows.